2015 is only four months old, and only Samsung and HTC have shown a slight portion of their smartphone arsenals for the year. There are more surprises in store, but the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, and HTC One M9 have set the standard for whether or not the remaining surprises (perhaps the LG G4, Moto X 2015, and others) will “wow” or “yawn” us.
Tech site PhoneArena has done a number of blind camera tests when it comes to the latest smartphones to see which one(s) is a big hit with its readership. The Note 4 was the big winner last Fall (though the Lumia 920 still wins major points with the site in camera shootouts), but the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge are “the new kids on the block,” to use the name of an old men’s pop group.
In the latest camera shootout, the site pitted the Galaxy S6 edge against the HTC One M9 and other devices (though the iPhone 6, for example, is from 2014). With that said, the Galaxy S6 edge won the top spot, followed by the Note 4 (Samsung’s 2014 phablet), and then the HTC One M9. The iPhone 6 came in fourth place.
While some can claim that Apple’s iPhone 6 wasn’t given a fair stake in the fight because it’s a seven-month-old smartphone, there’s no denying that the One M9 faired worse than even Samsung’s seven-month-old phablet, the Note 4 – not a good sign for the Taiwanese manufacturer who’s hoping to continue its rise back to the heyday of its past.
Keep in mind that this is a blind camera shootout, so the users themselves can’t be accused of bias. While Samsung’s benchmarks have proven that its latest smartphones are out of sight, its cameras are starting to dominate the smartphone scene as well. Apple may have a better camera on the way at year’s end, but Samsung has at least another six months to shine.